Almost One in Four Americans Would Rather Watch Their Team Lose the Biggest Football Game of the Year than Unexpectedly Require a Plumber or Electrician

ATLANTA, Jan. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Watching a favorite team in the championship game can be a highlight of the year for many people, but 24 percent of Americans would sacrifice a victory for their favorite team if it meant they could avoid the stress of frozen pipes, a faulty furnace or cable TV outage, or other unplanned service call according to national survey data released by Verizon Connect.

Millennials (26 percent) were the most likely of any segment to sacrifice a day off from work or school rather than have an unexpected service issue. Respondents were also willing to give up many of life's other pleasures, including:

Binge-watching their favorite movies or TV shows (33 percent);

A favorite indulgence, such as alcohol or chocolate (27 percent);

Birthday presents (19 percent);

Their next day off from work or school (18 percent);

Their next vacation (16 percent);

And, time spent with their families (15 percent)

Other than the pressure of a service emergency during the winter holidays, respondents were the most concerned about service emergencies impacting their wedding (39 percent) or important summer events, such as the Labor Day and Fourth of July weekends (36 percent). Respondents were also stressed about service emergencies during birthdays (28 percent), seasonal parties such as Halloween or St. Patrick's Day (24 percent) and religious gatherings (21 percent). Surprisingly, Mother's Day (14 percent), Valentine's Day (8 percent) and Father's Day (8 percent) all ranked lower than work functions (17 percent) in respondents' minds when it came to service emergencies.

Time is top of mind for consumers when focused on a service emergency

When asked which feature would be most important on a service provider mobile app, 65 percent of respondents cited viewing their service provider's estimated time of arrival and 32 percent seeing their provider's live location on a map. Consumers also listed notifications of job status (54 percent), viewing online billing (44 percent), rating and reviewing their service provider (41 percent), appointment rescheduling (34 percent) and the ability to make on-the-spot payments (30 percent) as important features of a service provider mobile app.

"In today's connected world, we have gotten used to instant gratification - we want live notifications from all our on-demand services-- from food delivery to ride-sharing. Our research revealed consumers are also holding service providers to similar standards," said Jay Jaffin, chief marketing officer at Verizon Connect. "To help meet these standards, Verizon Connect's fleet management software continues to optimize and revolutionize the way people, vehicles and things move through the world."

Verizon Connect offers a full suite of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions, serving commercial customers of any size.

MethodologyThe Verizon Connect Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,000 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older, between November 5 and November 8, 2018, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18 and older. The margin of error for this study is +/- 3.1 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The Verizon Connect survey defines "service providers" as independent contractors or companies with a fleet of vehicles that provide maintenance or repair services; including plumbers, electricians, heating and cooling technicians, landscapers and carpenters. The survey looked at U.S. adults to reveal their biggest fears around needing service providers as well as their expectations when they hire them.

About Verizon ConnectVerizon Connect is guiding a connected world on the go by automating, optimizing and revolutionizing the way people, vehicles and things move through the world. Our full suite of industry-defining solutions and services put innovation, automation and connected data to work for customers and help them be safer, more efficient and more productive. With more than 3,500 dedicated employees in 15 countries, we deliver leading mobile technology platforms and solutions. For more on Verizon Connect, visit www.verizonconnect.com.